Grant: Doctoral Research Award: Canada Graduate Scholarships

Infectious organisms such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites are an immense burden on the healthcare system in Canada. One such parasite is the diarrhea-causing Giardia intestinalis that is transmitted through contaminated food and water and is prevalent in young children. Previous studies have shown that this parasite is missing many important features in its cargo transport system that is necessary for uptake of nutrients, disposing waste, and protecting itself from the host's immune system. Instead, it has modified its existing compartments and protein machinery and uses it to establish infection in human and animal hosts. Unfortunately, the specific process and the protein parts involved are still not entirely known. Using a combination of cutting-edge computational methods, we will first aim to identify molecular switches in Giardia that normally turn on and off cargo movement processes in our cells. We will then follow it up with molecular testing to determine exactly where and how they are functioning in Giardia's existing transport system. We will also assemble DNA from strains of Giardia from patients, beavers, and water samples collected during outbreaks in British Columbia and examine whether there are differences between them. We have previously used this combinatorial approach to study other proteins in the system which allowed us to uncover new functions that have never been described before. Therefore, we can expect similar findings that will ultimately help us piece together the puzzle of what parts are present and exactly how are they functioning together for this parasite to be causing disease in us.